NATO to Practice Implementing Collective Defence

09.03.2011

No. 80-E

From 23-30 March Estonia will participate in the NATO Crisis Management Exercise CMX 2011.

The CMX is a regularly scheduled NATO Crisis Management Exercise, the goal of which is to practice political, military and civil organisation and crisis management procedures in order to be able to support NATO consultations and the collective decision-making process in a crisis situation. CMX 2011 will focus on practicing the implementation of the procedures in Articles 4 and 5 in order to ensure NATO and its partner countries’ readiness to fulfil NATO’s primary task – ensuring the collective defence of its allies.

The scenario for the staff exercise, which will take place in real time, is fictional. The scenario laid out in the exercise will describe an escalating threat to the territorial integrity, political autonomy and security of a NATO ally, which will lead to the implementation of collective defence on the basis of Article 5 of the North-Atlantic Treaty. The scenario will also include aspects of the new security threats addressed by NATO’s new Strategic Concept.
One aim of the exercise is to practice consultation procedures with the NATO partner states and international organisations participating in the exercise. Participating in CMX 2011 will be all 28 NATO member states, the partner states Finland and Sweden, and the representatives of many international organizations as observers. About 2 500 will be involved in the exercise.
Institutions from Estonia that will be included in the exercise are the Foreign Ministry, Estonia’s Permanent Representation to NATO, the Defence Ministry, the Defence Forces, the State Chancellery, the Security Police, the Ministry of Economics and Communications, the Interior Ministry, the Rescue Board, the Finance Ministry, and the Justice Ministry. This is Estonia’s fifth time participating in the CMX exercise (earlier exercises took place in 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010).
In accordance with NATO’s new Strategic Concept, approved in November 2010, ensuring the collective defence of allies and crisis management are NATO’s primary tasks, which are accomplished though the routine compilation of defence plans and regularly scheduled trainings.